By Our Correspondent
A Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, involving the UNIZIK Business School, Awka and the African Missionary Empowerment Network, AMEN, in partnership with Advanced Development Solutions Initiative, ADSI, has been signed for the training of unemployed Nigerian youths on survival strategies.
The Vice Chancellor of UNIZIK, Professor Charles Esimone signed for the university, while Dr. Ogochukwu Soludo, who is the chairman of ADSI Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited, signed for the two organizations.
Under the MoU, both parties are to pool resources in their respective areas of comparative advantage towards advancing human resource development for the provision of training services and certification in basic survival and sustenance skills development application and evaluation, guidance and counseling, grassroots mobilization, social re-orientation and transformation, capacity enhancement, wealth creation, poverty reduction and dynamics of managing sustainable co-operative enterprise.
Details of the agreement show that both parties shall nominate two persons each who shall form the management team of the enterprise created by the MOU.
Soludo said at the signing ceremony that the idea is to change people’s orientation about life because the journey towards social transformation and sustainable development begins with change of attitude.
He said his organization already has 1336 members in its network, adding that they would assist in the mobilization of people who want to be trained.
Soludo said: “The beneficiaries will be trained in batches and the training will be cost effective for them, which is why we are partnering with the UNIZIK Business School.
“We are strongly persuaded that the kind of mindset people have about the country could be changed by getting appropriate training.
“Our emphasis is on self development and we want to help people harness those potentials to enable them make progress in society.
“There are many opportunities everywhere, but unfortunately, many people keep seeking for employment that is not available.
“We will use well – tested professionals who had survived difficulties of life, to train people in basic survival strategies. It is almost like a mentoring programme that will help the beneficiaries develop capacity for independent reasoning.
“Our target is the unemployed youths who are struggling with life and have become prisoners due to their own mindset.”
The Vice Chancellor, Professor Esimone said the institution values the partnership because a lot of benefits would be derived from it.
He described it as one of the fastest MoU signed by UNIZIK because he knew where it would take the university to.
Esimone commended the initiative, noting that it is only through education that people could be changed.
